Peter Barabas andEuronews offices in Doha and Dubai, as well as Euronews Portuguese and Arabic services.
Published 03/07/2026 – 20:46 GMT+2
Cristiano Ronaldo’s deeply personal moment of peak concentration was captured on camera in close-up and broadcast live for billions of seconds around the world before he converted the decisive penalty in Portugal’s dramatic 2-1 win over Croatia on Friday.
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However, it was his whisper to himself that sparked a worldwide debate on social media about what exactly he said.
Social media users across the Arabic-speaking world erupted in applause on Friday, saying he whispered “Bismillah” twice.
Meanwhile, in Portugal, the nation holds its breath in anticipation of those endless seconds that decide in the blink of an eye between hero and villain. The debate appears to be divided between “vamos la” (“come on”) and “vais markar” (“you will score”).
“Bismillah”, or “In the Name of God”, is used in the Arabic-speaking and Muslim-majority world as a call for God’s help, guidance or blessing before taking any action, in the hope of good results.
Cristiano Ronaldo joined the Saudi Arabian Professional League in 2022 to play for Al-Nasr, much to the delight of the entire Arab world, and it was this defining moment that has captured their imagination with numerous videos on social media showing men frozen for a second in front of their televisions and then exploding in both disbelief and celebration, exclaiming: “Ronaldo said Bismillah.”
Arabic-language media across the Gulf and beyond have joined the decipherment movement, discreetly – or coyly – splashing the unexpected but much-welcomed news on the front pages: a global superstar may indeed have whispered “Bismillah” as an astonishing habit, signaling that now is truly the moment to consider CR7 not just the champion and captain of Portugal, but a legend in the Arab world.
The debate inevitably prompted Euronews’ Doha and Dubai bureau staff and its Arabic desk to analyze the moment, all of whom concluded that Cristiano Ronaldo had indeed whispered “Bismillah”.
Our reporters also raised an important point: Cristiano Ronaldo has said “Bismillah” many times before while playing in the Saudi league for inspiration ahead of the strike, and that this could be the first time a champion’s intimate moment of self-empowerment is played out on the world stage – and causes a global sensation.
On social media, one Saudi Arabian user exclaimed: “So touching how Cristiano Ronaldo has been influenced by Islamic culture since arriving in Saudi Arabia! And even more impressive is how he repeated the phrase (Bismillah) in a moment of concentration to score a goal.”
Another user from Pakistan explained that “Ronaldo says ‘Bismillah’ before every penalty. He once said in an interview: whenever I say ‘Bismillah’, I score a goal.”
As the intense debate raged, another social media user countered: “Ronaldo doesn’t say Bismillah.” He says “vais marcar”. Essentially, he tells himself: “You will score.” Because of his accent, he pronounced the word as “bais-markar”, which is very similar to “Bismillah”.
The Portugal captain, as well as the Al Nasr captain, have yet to shed any light on the debate, instead focusing on the greeting of the Portuguese fans who gathered outside the team hotel after the match to celebrate Portugal’s progress to the quarter-finals, thanks in large part to that quiet moment of inspiration that decided the outcome of the qualifier and silenced its critics.